Jet Blue offering one-day sale for $99 or $79 flights to Florida

Friday

Today, for one day only, JetBlue is having a fare sale and trip giveaway to Florida destinations in an effort to help the state recover economically from Hurricane Michael and red tide.

The sale, offered Friday through a partnership with Visit Florida, is for travel to Florida destinations from Boston, Washington, D.C., New York City. Philadelphia and Westchester County, New York Sundays through Tuesdays from Jan. 7 through Feb. 12.

Travelers can fly to Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Sarasota-Bradenton, Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach but it depends on the airport you're leaving from. JetBlue's website advertised one-way flights from Boston and Washington, D.C., to Tampa starting at $79, and one-way flights to Tampa from Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and Westchester County Airport starting at $99.

The sale is part of a nearly $9 million Visit Florida marketing plan to support the state's tourism industry following the catastrophic damage caused by the hurricane and by red tide.

"Following Hurricane Michael and this year's red tide blooms, it's more important than ever for us to spread the message that the Sunshine State is open for business," Visit Florida President and CEO Ken Lawson said. "Through this strategic partnership with JetBlue, we are making it even easier for visitors to experience our great state as we work to establish Florida as the number one global destination."

Visit Florida's campaign to promote the fares includes paid digital billboards in Boston and New York City, paid social media posts targeting key markets and driving potential visitors to the sale's landing page on JetBlue's website, email marketing to JetBlue customers and a partnership with the New York Daily News that awards three trips to Florida and drives potential visitors to the call-to-action page. That last bit of exposure includes daily full-page advertisements and run-of-site banners and is valued at $500,000.

The current episode of red tide began in October of 2017. Since then, it's reached Southwest Florida, Northwest Florida and the East Coast, leading to massive fish kills and unusually high deaths among creatures like sea turtles, manatees and dolphins. Hurricane Michael ravaged the Florida panhandle, destroying homes and businesses.

Tourism in Sarasota and Manatee counties has taken a significant hit because of red tide. Businesses have closed and lost revenue because of the lack of visitors. The latest tourist development tax collection numbers from Sarasota County show a 32 percent year-over-year drop in September and a 20 percent drop in August. Manatee County collections fell by 18 percent in September but increased by 1.3 percent in August. The tourist development tax, also known as the bed tax, is a 5 percent levy generated on short-term rentals.

However, despite everything, the state set another tourism record this year, welcoming 95.8 million visitors in the first nine months of 2018. That represents a 6.7 percent increase over the same period last year.